Brown Out: Cleveland Suspends Kellen Winslow

19 Action News has learned Kellen Winslow has been suspended following comments made earlier this week about his recent staph infection.

Last week, the club refused to disclose Winslow's illness. On Sunday, the 25-year-old revealed he had staph and complained about the team's handling of the situation.

Winslow said he "felt like a piece of meat" and was disappointed general manager Phil Savage didn't check on him when he was in the hospital.

Savage released the following statement late Tuesday:

"The Cleveland Browns are committed to winning and taking care of our players. We are also committed to protecting the privacy of our players, particularly with regard to medical issues. To that end, following discussions with Kellen Winslow and his representation, the Browns agreed to make every effort to maintain the confidentiality of his recent medical condition.

"As an organization, we have worked hard to ensure the safety and well-being of our players. Consistent with this effort, we have consulted the team's medical experts to ensure that any instances of staph infections are evaluated and treated thoroughly and expeditiously, and in accordance with the recommended standard of care. Further, steps have been and continue to be taken on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis to protect our players and personnel at our training facility and stadium.

During training camp, the entire team took part in an extensive presentation by experts in the field of infectious diseases. It was an educational meeting that informed players of the issues, how to prevent and minimize the risks of infection, and what preventative measures we as an organization had employed to assure maximum safety for the team combined with a Q&A session for the players. Kellen was in attendance at that meeting. Since that meeting, not one player has approached me, Romeo Crennel, or our medical staff with concerns as to how we have dealt with this issue.

Kellen has expressed his desire to be a productive member of the Cleveland Browns. His comments and behavior on Sunday evening, however, were unwarranted, inappropriate, and unnecessarily disparaging to our organization. His statements brought unjustified negative attention to our organization, and violated the team-first concept of our football squad. Therefore, disciplinary action will be taken in the form of a one-game suspension without pay for conduct detrimental to the club.

Beginning Wednesday, the focus of the coaches and players will be on preparing for the upcoming game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

19 Action News has learnedWinslow will not practice or attend meetings with the team this week and will return to the team on Monday, October 27th.